Real value versus perceived value: to become a highly successful brand, a company needs to market a product or service with solid, real value, and crank up the perceived value as high as possible. Consumers generally buy popular brand-named items purely based on their own perception that the item is genuinely worth more money than the similar no-name branded item next to it.

Are high-priced branded items really more valuable than the white-label discount items? Sometimes, yes. In terms of real value, usually no. Marketing and perspective have made all the difference for brands like Alexander McQueen and Gucci.

“Certain brands of clothing sell for much more than others simply because they have a logo or a brand name on them. The right brand name can make a big difference for some customers” (Luke Arthur, Demand Media).

So what is it consumers want from a known brand?

According to one online Fashion Addict, it’s the symbol of wealth and trying to fit in. The anonymous fashion blogger says brands can often be about “who’s got the most expensive things and if they’re on top or not”. She says there are people “who brag about using a MacBook, but can’t explain why the computer is so good because they just bought into the brand” (Fashion Addict).

The key to successful branding

The key to successful branding is to find a real, enviable or desirable identity for your company and put it out there in the market. Every brand must have a niche.

Your brand’s niche could speak to high-end consumers, homemakers, sporty teenagers or soccer moms – as long as it speaks to someone. Consumers who buy into brands are usually less concerned about the actual cost of an item than they are about the perceived benefits that go along with that item, such as popularity. “This perception [of value] is formed by the opinions of the market and by the benefits that the customer expects to receive if he makes a purchase. The product may be sold for much more than what it cost to manufacture because of the perception of the customer” (Luke Arthur, Demand Media).

The perceived value of any product is born from the needs and lifestyle of the consumer, and this is what successful brands use as their platform. Although from a purely financial business perspective, the real value of any object can be measured by its efficiency, cost and durability, these are not necessarily the same criteria used by a consumer. An adult entrepreneur may judge the real value of a new laptop by these criteria; a high school student with access to school computers may require a laptop to provide a sense of wealth, popularity and status quo. At the end of the day, a brand is selling a message, not an item.